[unreadable] [unreadable] Bioinformatics and molecular medicine hold much promise for the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases, promising to improve our understanding of disease and our ability to correctly diagnose diseases. The applicant seeks to broaden his informatics/genomics background for a career in applying informatics to clinical problems. The goal of this project is to gather a set of human gene expression data using human gene microarrays and then utilize bioinformatics techniques to discern potential patterns of leukocyte gene expression between truly infected Coag-negative Staphylococcus and false-positive human blood samples. Using bioinformatics to further the development of integration and analysis techniques for a spectrum of clinical and genomic data will play a crucial role in differentiating bacterial contamination from infection. By eliminating needless removal of uninfected catheters and unnecessary dosing of broad-spectrum antibiotics, this information could save hundreds of millions of dollars annually in the United States. Continued development of applied informatics techniques such as this project are needed to further the application of genome-related technologies to clinical care. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]